RFU Announces the End of the 2019/20 Season

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the RFU have this morning announced the end of the 2019/20 rugby season for all league, cup and county rugby in England. The only exception to this is the Gallagher Premiership, who the RFU are in discussions with to review possible best next steps.

The Cornish Pirates can now advise the following:

Tickets: Anyone who has purchased match tickets for the what were expected remaining home games can be refunded. If you wish to be refunded then please send your ticket/s to Sue Read, Cornish Pirates Ticket Office, Alexandra Road, Penzance, Cornwall, TR18 4LY.

If you have an queries you can email [email protected] or telephone 01736 331961 (Monday – Friday 9am – 12noon).

Please note it is important not to visit the ticket office in person for obvious reasons. Also please bear with us during this difficult period, and at the same time be assured that if there is a delay for whatever circumstances, requested refunds will be made.

Season Tickets: Anyone who has a season ticket that would like to request a credit for the cancelled games against next year’s season ticket can contact Sue Read in the ticket office by phone/email.

Hospitality: For any hospitality bookings the same applies as per the tickets position as per the information outlined above with our contact being Sue Read.

Rebecca Thomas, CEO

Obviously we are all devastated that our season has come to an end in this way and that we won’t get the chance to fight for our final position. We have made huge strides on the pitch and developed a very strong squad this season and I am immensely proud of everyone on and off the field. We are in unprecedented times and now as a fully professional club have to face the next few months of uncertainty, the same as many businesses around us. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff, volunteers, sponsors and supporters for a wonderful season of rugby, please take this time to follow the government guidelines, stay safe and look after your loved ones and communities. If there are any organisations or individuals that need support or volunteers during this time then please get in touch – we are more than happy to help in any way we can in line with current guidelines.

Message from RFU Chief Executive Bill Sweeney

My thoughts and those of all of us at the RFU are with everyone impacted by COVID-19 as well as recent flooding events, both across the country at large but also within our own rugby union community.

In order to provide clarity and to assist with immediate and longer term planning, the RFU is today announcing the end of the 2019/20 rugby season for all league, cup and county rugby in England. The only exception to this is the Gallagher Premiership, who we are in active discussions with to review possible best next steps.

When current government advice on social distancing measures changes, we will naturally encourage rugby training and friendlies to recommence.

I would like to personally thank everyone for their swift actions in suspending rugby activity, this is not an easy time and I know many of you will have concerns that go beyond the game.

We are working through the implications of ending the season early and have instigated a thorough process to ensure fair and balanced outcomes for the game. We will communicate these outcomes by the middle of April. While we would like to provide all the answers now, we need some time to get it right for the best interests of the game. Rest assured we are working on this as a priority and we will continue to send weekly updates to clubs.

The three areas of focus for the RFU right now are Welfare, Implications and Reboot.

Welfare

We are ensuring colleagues and communities are given support to follow government advice and are providing recommendations on how to stay fit and healthy using individual training programmes. We are also talking to government about how we can deploy and mobilise our own resources across England to support the vulnerable.

Implications

Every union is different, with unique structures and challenges and the RFU needs to manage its own particular complexities. Our business model is similar to most rugby clubs – we earn revenue from events on and off the field and we invest that back into the game. We benefit from strong Twickenham Stadium revenues but we are also exposed if there is widespread cancellation of games and events.

In this extraordinary situation we are working through a range of potential financial scenarios dependent mainly on the length of this crisis. This was already budgeted to be a loss making year within a 4 year cycle due to the costs of the 2019 RWC campaign and only hosting two home Six Nations games. The loss will now be considerably more as we face challenges similar to businesses across the entire country. There may well also be much longer term financial implications which we are assessing now. It is therefore taking us some time to develop a considered position on how we can support clubs and the rugby community, which we will do.

We have already undertaken financial measures to safeguard the business enabling us to review all options and programmes to provide support for clubs in these difficult times.

We welcome the measures announced by Government which could provide crucial support to professional and community clubs and the RFU. We are in regular contact with Sport England and The Sport and Recreation Alliance to understand how business rate relief and hardship funds can be accessed by clubs and will be providing assistance to make sure every club who is eligible will be supported.

The implications for all areas of rugby will be thoroughly worked through and solutions discussed and developed with the clubs.

Reboot

Our welfare advice before the start of next season will switch to offering guidance on how players at all levels can reboot and get match ready.

We will work closely with constituent bodies to support clubs, competition organisers and the wider rugby community in preparing to re-start rugby in what is likely to be a challenging environment.

In recent days we have all been inspired by the many stories across the rugby family working together to support those who are the most vulnerable in their community – this encapsulates the unique spirit of rugby. I am confident that this spirit and resilience during these tough times will ensure we will come through this together and emerge stronger.